[/caption]Joe Wilson is an award-winning filmmaker and the creator, writer. director and editor of the Indie TV series "Vampire Mob.” Wilson's short “The Swear Police” won its category at the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival and his first short “Tickle Me Harder” was described by Gawker as “a celebrity sex tape worth our time.” Wilson also made international news auctioning a “Jar of Celebrity Air” on eBay, which became the subject of his one-man show by the same name. You can find him on Twitter, probably right now @VampireMob @JoeWilsonTV
What is the current project you are working on?
I am currently making an Indie TV series with an amazing cast of 21 actors - It's a comedy with murder and swearing called "Vampire Mob."
Indie TV is like Indie Filmmaking, stories told independent of a television network and distributed to our worldwide audience via the internet. And yes, you can watch "Vampire Mob" on your television by using a Boxee or Apple TV streaming right off the net in HD, like Netflix does.
The show is about Don Grigioni, a hitman and a vampire, who just found out his mother-in-law is moving in for eternity.
In the role of Don is John Colella, who guest starred on Criminal Minds and Desperate Housewives this season and who you may also run into if you're playing the videogame "L.A. Noire." Don's very patient wife. Annie, is played by Reamy Hall (Criminal Minds), his sister-in-law is Laura is Kirsten Vangsness, who you might know as Penelope Garcia on "Criminal Minds."
The mother-in-law, Virginia, is played by Emmy-winning actress, Marcia Wallace, who you might also know as the voice of Mrs. Krabappel on "The Simpsons." In season two, Tony winner Rae Allen joins the cast as Don's mother, Carlina Grigioni. There's a very fun dinner scene later in season two that stars John Colella, Reamy Hall, Marcia Wallace, Rae Allen, Jim Roof & Kirsten Vangsness that is a tremendous amount of fun!
How do you handle rejection?
I keep going.
Did you always want to be a filmmaker?
It always looked like fun, but I never said, "I want to be a director." I saw how other directors interpreted my scripts and I disagreed with the handling of the comedy and tone, so I learned how to make my own stuff.
What is the best thing about being one?
Getting to talk to audience members all over the world who really like our story and cast.
What is the worst thing about being one?
Trying to raise enough money to keep going.
How has your life changed since you became a filmmaker?
I'm a lot busier and I have a lot more fun.
What do you like to do besides filmmaking?
Sleep.
Have you had any other jobs before you decided to become a filmmaker?
Private investigator, background investigator, bartender, performance artist, installation artist, photographer, stand up comedian, waiter, pool installer, flower delivery guy.
What are some of your favorite American films? Foreign films? Television shows?
This list constantly rotates but here's what popped in my head.
Movies: Apocalypse Now, The Usual Suspects, Snatch, Let The Right One In, Glengarry GlenRoss, Blood Simple, Do The Right Thing, Following, Jackass.
The TeeVee: The Venture Bros, Fawlty Towers, Trailer Park Boys, Torchwood, Parks and Recreation, Community, Modern Family, The Simpsons, 30 Rock, Robot Chicken.
How would you describe your film education?
D.I.Y.
How has social media changed the independent film industry?
If you're a storyteller and you're not using social media to talk to your audience, you are making a mistake. There's never been a better time to be a storyteller than right now because there's never been so many affordable tools available, along with distribution, ever.
I think audiences will continue to fragment as more content, be it television or movies, is made available on demand and streaming. Our audience mainly finds the show because of Twitter.
What's your opinion on crowdfunding?
Without our audience donating over $10,000 we could not have continued to make "Vampire Mob." So, I'm pretty psyched about it.
It's not easy, it's like a full-time job and we struck out on Kickstarter, failing at $6,212 of the $10,000 we didn't raise - so we lost it all. It took six months to raise the budget, while the script was being written, and all during pre-production, production and even during post-production, right now, we're still fundraising. We had to shut down production because we ran out of money during season two and when "the VMob" (the nickname our audience somehow took on) found out, they had us back in production in a week. That was amazing.
What is the casting process like?
We didn't have any auditions, which I was very happy about. I've auditioned plenty of times as an actor and it's always an odd process. Having now seen what casting is like from my favorite side of the camera, behind it, I get the "not right" thing a lot better now.
John Colella knows a lot of talented actors and I also know quite a few, some of whom I've seen on stage at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, where I also write plays once a month.
I wrote a lot of the 21 roles in season two of "Vampire Mob" with the the actors in mind and in the case of Marcia Wallace, I wrote it for her before I ever thought I'd actually ask her to do the show. It's been another very lucky part of making the show, we've been able to put together a stellar cast.
How does independent film differ from the mainstream?
I think that depends on your definition of independent.
Mainstream, to me, means mass-marketing to a mass audience who will see the movie on a large number of screens. Or not, as the case may be.
The definition of independent is changing with the advent of video on demand, iTunes and other forms of digital distribution. The reality of an indie film hitting the festivals, getting a distribution deal that gets the filmmakers a big fat check and a theatrical run is very much over, for the most part.
Most people are seeing films at home on a device that has nothing to do with a movie theatre. Per capita, most human beings see most of the movies they watch in their lifetime on a screen other than a movie theater screen. If that's the case and cheap distribution is available for indie filmmakers with features in the can, the challenge, as always, getting the word out, marketing.
What's your favorite movie quote and why?
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. " - from Ferris Bueller's day off.
I like it because Matthew Broderick once said that he thought his character in this film was satan.
What is your opinion on movie remakes and sequels?
It's indicative of fear-based decision making by publicly traded companies who think the only way to make a profit on a story is to retell a pre-existing story with a built-in audience.
What is your opinion on book to movie adaptions?
They are always better than book adaptations of movies.
Thanks for doing the interview Joe. I'm a HUGE fan of "Vampire Mob". I'd love to interview the cast if they are interested. Readers don't forget "Vampire Mob" is 100% audience funded. You can donate to this great show here.
No comments:
Post a Comment